The Save the Basin Campaign questions the integrity of the process being undertaken by the Wellington City Council to investigate alternatives to the flyover plan for the Basin Reserve, following the statement by Acting Mayor Ian McKinnon reported in today’s Dominion Post.

“Acting Mayor McKinnon’s statement has tainted the integrity and impartiality of the review by Council, and has placed a cloud over its final recommendation,” said Save the Basin Campaign spokesperson Alana Bowman.

“Our campaign calls for Cr McKinnon to remove himself from further attempts to undermine the independence of the process undertaken by Council and its officers”, Ms Bowman continued.

In contrast to Mayor Celia Wade-Brown, Cr McKinnon is in the minority of council who opposed a review of options to the flyover, and he appears to have knowledge not shared by the rest of the Council.

As reported by the Dominion Post, he said he expected NZTA to continue down that path after the council’s work was complete – “that path” apparently continuing to push the outdated and ugly structure on to residents who have rejected the idea through the 2011 public submission process.

Ms Bowman challenges Cr McKinnon to release information about the apparently foregone conclusion of “the council’s work” – to issue a finding in support of the flyover.

There was such a flood of flyover-related news over Christmas and New Year that we thought you might like a little summary – see below. One story that deserves more attention, as reported by Wellington Scoop, is that NZTA has said it is thinking of building not one but two flyovers: http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=51395

In NZTA’s little game of “double or quits”, we say “quits”. Quit now, NZTA, before you waste even more taxpayer money on ugly, outdated, massively expensive and utterly unneeded monuments to 1950s transport thinking.

This photo showing traffic immediately outside the north-eastern end of the Basin Reserve, right where the New Zealand Transport Agency wants to build a 9-metre-tall, 380-metre-long flyover, was taken at 11am on Wednesday 19 December. That’s right – the week before Christmas, when everyone is racing around trying to get their pre-Christmas lists done.

How will the poor driver of this solitary car ever cope with the congestion on all sides? No wonder NZTA wants to ruin an iconic Wellington landmark by building a flyover there!